(Regular updates will be available on the Alberta Pulse Growers website.)

Pulse Canada and the CSCA are partners of the Ag Transport Coalition (ATC)*, which tracks performance of the Canadian railway network for the movement of grain.

A new grain network status report has been created to provide stakeholders with comprehensive insight on the performance of the Canadian rail system for the 2020-2021 grain year. The report provides information and data on the status of the rail network as of midnight the previous day.

The railway performance data reported in these reports reflect the performance of rail shipments specifically for grain shippers participating in the Ag Transport Coalition’s railway performance measurement program – estimated to encompass approximately 90-95% of western Canadian originated grain shipments by rail.

July 27, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• System loads on wheels changed little from the prior day and remain below the 8,000 car threshold for the second straight day.

• There was little movement for either CN or CP yesterday with average daily loads on wheels continuing to track some 7% lower than last week.

Cars Not Moving

• Idle cars counts saw a significant decline yesterday falling below 1,800 cars – the first time counts have been below the 2,000 car mark since July 2.

• Both railways showed improvement yesterday with CP leading the way with counts declining by nearly 500 cars.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads (641) dropped off by 30% from the prior day reflecting lower unloads at Vancouver with Prince Rupert continuing to report no unloads.

• Thunder Bay unloads dropped off on the heels of 300+ unloads the prior day.  Port unloads now tracking marginally ahead of last week averaging 215 cars per day.

For more information, go to www.agtransportcoalition.com* The Ag Transportation Coalition is comprised of the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Pulse Canada, Manitoba Pulse Growers Association (MPGA), Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Inland Terminal Association of Canada (ITAC) and the Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA). All daily network status reports are available on the Pulse Canada website.